Travelers in February are accustomed to keeping an eye on the weather before they depart for the airport. But this year, it’s wise to keep up to date with where the strikes are being held.
This weekend the action will be in France, where two large unions representing railroad workers will walk off the job in the middle of the country’s winter school holidays, upsetting the plans of skiers and visitors alike.
Train conductors are set to strike from Friday, Feb. 16, through Sunday, Feb. 18, on Zones A (including Grenoble, Lyon and Bordeaux) and C (including Paris and Toulouse), canceling half of all trains. Additional unannounced actions are expected from Thursday evening into Monday morning.
SNCF has urged travelers to move their trips to different days if possible, and promised “exceptional compensation” for those affected by the strike. And Jean-Pierre Farandou, chief of the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Français (SNCF, France’s state-owned railroad) noted that “we will try to run all the trains that head to the Alps and the Pyrénées for the winter holidays.”
In other labor disputes, meanwhile, rail workers in Spain have been striking every Monday in February, and bus and metro workers in Paris are threatening to strike any time from now through September 9, including the Olympics. Tens of thousands of flight attendants yesterday picketed at more than 30 US and UK airports as part of the Worldwide Flight Attendant Day of Action. Uber and Lyft drivers are striking today; Alaska Air flight attendants yesterday voted to strike; travelers to Europe last week faced mass cancellations and delays due to ongoing strikes in Germany and Finland.
